Carrhae Capital LLP Buys 19,007 Shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC)

Carrhae Capital LLP increased its stake in shares of Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:YUMC) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 489,307 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,007 shares during the quarter. Yum China accounts for 2.0% of Carrhae Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Carrhae Capital LLP’s holdings in Yum China were worth $23,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUMC. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Yum China during the 4th quarter valued at about $243,901,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 4,176.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,588,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,576,000 after acquiring an additional 3,505,053 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Yum China by 399.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,727,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $179,556,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,589 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Yum China by 49.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,865,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Yum China during the 4th quarter worth $68,638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Yum China from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum China news, CEO Joey Wat sold 37,252 shares of Yum China stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.71, for a total transaction of $1,851,796.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 382,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,021,879.47. The trade was a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jeff Kuai sold 3,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.21, for a total value of $188,019.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 56,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,728,782.42. The trade was a 6.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,152 shares of company stock valued at $2,242,176. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum China Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Yum China stock opened at $51.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.25, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.22. Yum China Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.50 and a 52-week high of $53.99.

Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.01). Yum China had a return on equity of 13.83% and a net margin of 8.06%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum China Holdings, Inc. will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum China Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Yum China’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. Yum China’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.20%.

About Yum China

Yum China Holdings, Inc owns, operates, and franchises restaurants in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through KFC, Pizza Hut, and All Other segments. It operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Lavazza, Little Sheep, and Huang Ji Huang concepts. The company also operates V-Gold Mall, a mobile e-commerce platform to sell products; and offers online food deliver services.